The word is finally out. Dominicans have switched from a mostly plant-based healthy diet based on tubers and fresh fruit to one where fast food prevails. A recent study “Unhealthy food in the Dominican Republic” reveals there now are 3.5 million persons suffering from high blood pressure in the country. A third of these cases could have been prevented with a better diet. The Alianza por la Comida Saludable carried out the study that was presented yesterday, as reported in Diario Libre.
The study reveals the poor and children are the most likely to consume the unhealthy fast food diet. Researcher Celeste Solano mentions recent increases in obesity among the Dominican population. She says heart attacks and stroke are now the cause of 25% of all registered deaths. She attributes up to 55% of the heart attacks to a poor diet where canned food, pre-cooked foods, cereals, snacks, processed juices and sweets prevail. She points out that the consumption of sugar in the country has increased by 47% in the past 15 years.
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Diario Libre
21 March 2019